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Story: Protected areas

New Zealand has three world heritage sites, 13 national parks and an array of other reserves. More than 10,000 protected areas cover almost a third of the country, safeguarding stunning scenery, important ecosystems, and places of historic and scientific value.

What are protected areas?

Some areas of land, the sea, rivers or lakes are protected by law, so their special plants, animals, landforms and other features are safe from harm. People can visit most of these areas.

New Zealand’s protected areas

New Zealand has more than 10,000 protected areas, covering almost a third of the country.

The first national park, Tongariro, was set up in 1894. Since then, thousands of reserves have been created.

National parks

There are 13 national parks. They cover some of New Zealand’s unique landscapes, including:

Milford Sound

Aoraki/Mt Cook

the Franz Josef and Fox glaciers

the Whanganui River.

Other types of reserve

Conservation parks are mostly in the forest-covered ranges. Some are in the South Island’s high-country grasslands.

Nature reserves protect the habitats of threatened plants and animals. Most islands near the coast are nature reserves. Many are free of mammal predators, so they are important for saving threatened native species. Mainland nature reserves include one for the rare Castle Hill buttercup, and one for the Cromwell chafer beetle.